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[ G.R. No. 138077. July 5, 1999]

ANIELOR BERUS, et al vs. COURT OF APPEALS, et al.

FIRST DIVISION

Gentlemen:

Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this Court dated JUL 5, 1999.

G.R. No. 138077 (Anielor Berus, et al. vs. Court of Appeals, et al.)

Petitioner seek the modification of the decision rendered by the Court of Appeals dated 16 September 1998 with regard to the award of damages and attorney's fees arising from a vehicular accident.

On 6 August 1991, a vehicular collision occurred at Barangay Sigangao, Zarraga, Iloilo. A Ceres bus owned by Vallacar Tansit, Inc., smashed into a private jeepney on its way to Ajuy, Iloilo. After the initial contact, the bus continued its momentum in a zigzag manner and traveled approximately 20 meters before it collided again with a passenger jeepney owned by petitioner Anielor Berus. The violent impact of the bus on the passenger jeepney caused the detachment of the roof of the jeepney. The jeepney was further dragged to a ditch by the bus which continued to advance to a distance of about 20 meters until it finally landed on top of the roofless jeepney. Fifteen (15) persons, including the owner-driver of the passenger jeepney, died as a result of the accident.

Anielor Berus, et al. who are the heirs of the victims filed an action for damages against Vallacar Transit, Inc. now before the Regional Trial Court of Iloilo City. Said court after trial rendered a decision holding Vallacar Transit primarily and directly liable under Article 2180 of the Civil Code for the negligence of its driver. It found at the time of the accident, Vallacar Transit's driver was overspeeding. Vallacar Transit was ordered to indemnify the heirs of the victims. The heirs of each of the victims were awarded P75,000 as moral damages (among other damages) except the Bayaras, who were given P300,000. The Berus family was awarded an additional sum of P200,000 representing the value of their passenger jeep which was totally destroyed.

The Court of Appeals in its decision promulgated on September 16, 1998 in CA-G.R. CV No. 42911 affirmed the judgment of the trial court but reduced the amount of moral damages awarded to the Bayaras from P300,00 to P75,000 to make it equal with that received by the other heirs.

Not satisfied with the Court of Appeals' decision, both parties separately appealed to this Court under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court. The petition filed by Vallacar Transit docketed as G.R. No. 137779 was denied in a Resolution of this Court dated 14 June 1999, which found no errors in the findings of the Court of Appeals.

Anielor, et al., on the other hand, sought in their petition, now under consideration, the modification of the decision of the Court of Appeals on the award of damages, on the following grounds.

1. Respondent Court of Appeals erred in not awarding petitioner Anielor Berus, damages on the unrealized income of the passenger jeep, considering that respondent Vallacar has agreed that the said jeep, has a life span of 7 years, and it was proven that it earned P500.00 per day;

2. Respondent Court of Appeals erred in reducing the award of moral damages in favor of petitioner Virginia, Genevieve, Geralyn and Jose Aldrin, all surnamed Bayaras from P300,000.00 to P75,000.00 for the four petitioners;

3. Respondent Court of Appeals erred in reducing the amount of attorney's fees from a 15% to a merely 10% despite the fact that the fee arrangement is on contingent basis and the legal services rendered was very extensive. 1 [Petition for Review, Rollo, p. 22.]

We find the petition devoid of merit.

We quote with the approval the reasoning of the Court of Appeals on why there should be no award of unrealized income of the passenger jeepney, to wit:

Plaintiffs-appellants in their first assigned error contend that compensatory damages should be awarded for the loss of income of the passenger jeepney. This contention has no merit as the total loss of the jeepney was already addressed and reasonably compensated in the appealed decision. Besides it was not the jeepney that earned income but George Berus the driver-operator thereof. 2 [CA Decision, Rollo., p. 53.]

With regard to the reduction of moral damages awarded to the Bayaras family, the Court of Appeals correctly reduced the amount from P300,000.00 to P75,000.00. Indeed, there is no justification why the Bayaras family would deserve a more favorable treatment than the other families whose relatives were also victims of the vehicular accident. It was an error on the part of the trial court to give the Bayaras family higher moral damages compared to the other families when they were all similarly situated. The award of P75,000.00 as moral damages for each of the families of the victims is more in keeping with rule that moral damages are not intended to enrich the complainant at the expense defendant.3 [Filinvest Credit Corp. vs. Intermediate Appellate Court, 166 SCRA 155.]

Finally, we find no reason to depart from the ruling of the Court of Appeals as far the reduction of the attorney's fees is concerned. Article 2208 specifically prescribed that "(I)n all cases, the attorney's fees and expenses of litigation must be reasonable." Petitioners failed to present convincing arguments that 10% of the amounts recovered by them was inadequate as attorney's fees.

WHEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, the petition is DENIED DUE COURSE.

Very truly yours,

(Sgd.) VIRGINIA ANCHETA-SORIANO

Clerk of Court

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